2018 Colorado Classic (HC), USA

2nd edition: August 16 - 19, 2018

The race: Here's the report from the team that dominated the 2018 Colorado Classic, UnitedHealthcare.

DENVER – So many things marked an unforgettable week for UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, it’s difficult to lead with one. From Gavin Mannion and Katie Hall winning the Colorado Classic overall, to Serghei Tvetcov and Leah Thomas coming in second. A historic moment for the team, and the race.

Clearly the icing on a fantastic week of racing was the stage victory by Travis McCabe, who posted up for another win to add to his list of first places this season.

Katie Hall has taken the overall win at every American stage race she lined up for in the 2018 season. In taking the overall classification, Katie Hall has won five stage races in America. Prior to that, the climber had never won a stage race before this year.

“This week was really special for us to be able to go out and to win,” Thomas said. “We were undefeated in stage racing in the US this year, and with so much uncertainty for the upcoming season and with it being Lauren Hall’s last professional race, we really wanted to put on a good show and showcase some aggressive racing in the women’s peloton.”

Thomas came away with the queen of the mountain jersey and second overall, a huge achievement in her own right. She spent the majority of the week watching over her leader, Hall.

“This is our last race together, some of us are retiring, some of us are moving on,” Hall said. “We’re just really celebrating being together and winning some bike races and each other. It’s really a celebratory week for us.”

“For me personally, this is one kind of racing and I feel I am ready to make the next step. I feel consistent in America, but the new year will be a whole other challenge for me. I’m ready for that challenge. For our team, I think we have a lot of consistency because Rachel Heal is such a good director, so good at picking out riders, and getting us all unified towards one goal.” Hall added.

The Colorado Classic also marked Lauren Hall’s final race as she heads into the next chapter of her life. Her retirement from professional cycling marks an end to an era, as she has been a staple in the women’s peloton for years.

“Be proud of this moment,” Sporting Director Seba Alexandre said, “it’s been a long time in the making and we deserve this accomplishment.” The combination of both men and women’s teams taking first and second on the overall GC is a historic moment for both the race and the team.

“This is the most important win of my career,” Mannion said, “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. There were moments on stage 3 where I wasn’t sure we’d be able to hold on, but somehow they brought it all back.” Those tense moments were relieved as the peloton rolled into Denver on the final lap of stage 4 Sunday, with Mannion safely tucked in the front of the peloton. He finished a strong 11th place on the final day right with the top sprinters.

Putting his stamp on the final day, and showing his world-class sprinting talent once again was Travis McCabe. The fastest man in the American Peloton, McCabe added another win to his palmares following on the heels of his two wins at the Tour of Utah the previous week.

Pascal Eenkhoorn has won the third stage in the Colorado Classic. In the streets of Denver, the first-year pro from Team LottoNL-Jumbo was the fastest rider from a small peloton. “I really didn’t expect this”, Eenkhoorn said. “It was the queen stage and from the start it went full throttle. For a moment, I was in a breakaway, but on the first climb I had to let go of the first group.”

On the second - the longest - climb of the day, Eenkhoorn came back into the peloton. “I told the boys that I felt good. I survived the climbs easily and I became better and better.”

For a long time, it seemed that the 161 kilometres long stage was going to be won by a rider from the early break. Seven men were riding in front of the peloton and only in the final they were caught. In the final, there were a lot of attacks and a few hundred metres before the finish the last attacker was caught. “It was a close call, but we stayed together as a team all the time. I was in the front with only two kilometres to go”, Eenkhoorn said. “Maarten Wynants and Jan Maas passed me and I jumped into their wheels. In the last two hundred metres, it was up to me and I could cross the line first.”

Eenkhoorn’s victory is his second of the year after he had won a stage in the Coppi e Bartali in March. The stage victory in Colorado is the 28th victory for LottoNL-Jumbo this season. “This is a victory for the entire team”, sports director Sierk-Jan de Haan said. “The stage victory is partly due to the strong relation that the riders and staff have built over the past three weeks.”

The team has been in the United States for a while already. And not without success: with Sepp Kuss, Team LottoNL-Jumbo won three stages in the Tour of Utah and the final classification.

Complete results:

161.9 kilometers ridden at an average speed of 43.6 km/hr

1

EENKHOORN Pascal

LottoNL-Jumbo

3hr 42min 54sec

2

AVILA Edwin

Israel Cycling Academy

s.t.

3

MANNION Gavin

UnitedHealthcare

s.t.

4

LEWIS Joe

Holowesko-Citadel

s.t.

5

COTÉ Pier-André

Silber Pro Cycling

s.t.

6

HAMILTON Lucas

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

7

ROTH Ryan

Silber Pro Cycling

s.t.

8

FRAYRE Eder

Elevate-KHS

s.t.

9

BENNETT Sean

Hagens Berman Axeon

s.t.

10

WYNANTS Maarten

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

11

EISENHART Taylor

Holowesko-Citadel

s.t.

12

EASTER Griffin

303 Project

s.t.

13

HECHT Gage

Aevolo

s.t.

14

MCCABE Travis

UnitedHealthcare

s.t.

15

CONCI Nicola

Trek-Segafredo

s.t.

16

POWLESS Neilson

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

17

SKUJIŅŠ Toms

Trek-Segafredo

s.t.

18

OLIVIER Daan

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

19

MAAS Jan

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

20

TVETCOV Serghei

UnitedHealthcare

s.t.

21

BROWN Nathan

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

22

HOWSON Damien

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

23

BLEVINS Christopher

Hagens Berman Axeon

s.t.

24

BOUWMAN Koen

LottoNL-Jumbo

s.t.

25

ANDERSON Edward

Hagens Berman Axeon

s.t.

26

MARTINEZ Daniel

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

27

VILLALOBOS Luis

Aevolo

s.t.

28

BURKE Jack

Jelly Belly

s.t.

29

DOMBROWSKI Joe

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

30

CARTHY Hugh

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

31

PICCOLI James

Elevate-KHS

s.t.

32

HOEHN Alex

Aevolo

s.t.

33

POWER Robert

Mitchelton-Scott

s.t.

34

JORGENSON Matteo

Jelly Belly

s.t.

35

STETINA Peter

Trek-Segafredo

s.t.

36

EG Niklas

Trek-Segafredo

s.t.

37

ELLSAY Nigel

Rally Cycling

s.t.

38

CATAFORD Alexander

UnitedHealthcare

s.t.

39

SANCHEZ Brayan

Holowesko-Citadel

s.t.

40

BRITTON Rob

Rally Cycling

s.t.

41

SWIRBUL Keegan

Jelly Belly

s.t.

42

FERNANDES José

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

43

EASTER Cullen

303 Project

s.t.

44

PLAZA Rubén

Israel Cycling Academy

s.t.

45

COMPANIONI Ruben

Holowesko-Citadel

@ 30sec

46

MURPHY Kyle

Rally Cycling

0:47

47

LEMUS Luis

Israel Cycling Academy

1:10

48

BASSETT Stephen

Silber Pro Cycling

0:00

49

MAGNER Ty

Rally Cycling

3:57

50

HUFFMAN Evan

Rally Cycling

6:30

51

SAMUEL Travis

Silber Pro Cycling

s.t.

52

PATE Danny

Rally Cycling

s.t.

53

CHAVES Brayan

Mitchelton-Scott

8:56

54

NEWKIRK Isaiah

303 Project

s.t.

55

ZUKOWSKY Nicolas

Silber Pro Cycling

12:12

56

WILLIAMS Tyler

Israel Cycling Academy

s.t.

57

SAGIV Guy

Israel Cycling Academy

s.t.

58

DANIEL Gregory

Trek-Segafredo

s.t.

59

REVARD Thomas

Hagens Berman Axeon

s.t.

60

KRASILNIKAU Andrei

Holowesko-Citadel

s.t.

61

HAIDET Lance

Aevolo

s.t.

62

JARAMILLO Daniel

UnitedHealthcare

s.t.

63

WINN Chris

303 Project

s.t.

64

STEPHENS Austin

303 Project

s.t.

65

CASTILLO Ulises Alfredo

Jelly Belly

s.t.

66

PHINNEY Taylor

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

67

NORRIS Lachlan

UnitedHealthcare

s.t.

68

DIDIER Laurent

Trek-Segafredo

s.t.

69

DAVIS Cole

Hagens Berman Axeon

s.t.

70

HERNANDEZ Michael

Aevolo

s.t.

71

SHELDEN Taylor

Jelly Belly

s.t.

72

GIRKINS Kevin

Elevate-KHS

14:25

73

CHEYNE Jordan

Elevate-KHS

s.t.

74

BASSETTI Sam

Elevate-KHS

s.t.

GC after Stage 3:

281 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 41.987 km/hr

1

MANNION Gavin

UnitedHealthcare

6hr 41min 33sec

2

TVETCOV Serghei

UnitedHealthcare

@ 15sec

3

CARTHY Hugh

EF Education First-Drapac

0:22

4

DOMBROWSKI Joe

EF Education First-Drapac

0:29

5

HOWSON Damien

Mitchelton-Scott

0:30

6

MARTINEZ Daniel

EF Education First-Drapac

0:33

7

PICCOLI James

Elevate-KHS

0:46

8

SKUJIŅŠ Toms

Trek-Segafredo

0:52

9

BRITTON Rob

Rally Cycling

s.t.

10

CATAFORD Alexander

UnitedHealthcare

0:53

11

EISENHART Taylor

Holowesko-Citadel

1:02

12

BURKE Jack

Jelly Belly

1:03

13

POWLESS Neilson

LottoNL-Jumbo

1:04

14

VILLALOBOS Luis

Aevolo

1:11

15

EG Niklas

Trek-Segafredo

1:14

16

BROWN Nathan

EF Education First-Drapac

s.t.

17

HECHT Gage

Aevolo

s.t.

18

POWER Robert

Mitchelton-Scott

1:23

19

SANCHEZ Brayan

Holowesko-Citadel

1:27

20

JORGENSON Matteo

Jelly Belly

1:38

21

BOUWMAN Koen

LottoNL-Jumbo

1:41

22

ELLSAY Nigel

Rally Cycling

1:44

23

EASTER Griffin

303 Project

1:53

24

OLIVIER Daan

LottoNL-Jumbo

2:00

25

BENNETT Sean

Hagens Berman Axeon

2:02

26

STETINA Peter

Trek-Segafredo

2:21

27

MAAS Jan

LottoNL-Jumbo

2:22

28

SWIRBUL Keegan

Jelly Belly

2:29

29

ROTH Ryan

Silber Pro Cycling

2:32

30

LEWIS Joe

Holowesko-Citadel

2:36

31

HOEHN Alex

Aevolo

2:38

32

BASSETT Stephen

Silber Pro Cycling

2:47

33

CONCI Nicola

Trek-Segafredo

2:53

34

MCCABE Travis

UnitedHealthcare

3:08

35

BLEVINS Christopher

Hagens Berman Axeon

3:24

36

HAMILTON Lucas

Mitchelton-Scott

3:25

37

EENKHOORN Pascal

LottoNL-Jumbo

3:37

38

MURPHY Kyle

Rally Cycling

3:43

39

PLAZA Rubén

Israel Cycling Academy

3:53

40

AVILA Edwin

Israel Cycling Academy

3:54

41

ANDERSON Edward

Hagens Berman Axeon

4:13

42

EASTER Cullen

303 Project

4:42

43

COTÉ Pier-André

Silber Pro Cycling

5:40

44

COMPANIONI Ruben

Holowesko-Citadel

6:01

45

MAGNER Ty

Rally Cycling

8:40

46

FRAYRE Eder

Elevate-KHS

9:39

47

WYNANTS Maarten

LottoNL-Jumbo

9:43

48

LEMUS Luis

Israel Cycling Academy

11:18

49

JARAMILLO Daniel

UnitedHealthcare

14:02

50

ZUKOWSKY Nicolas

Silber Pro Cycling

14:17

51

FERNANDES José

EF Education First-Drapac

14:19

52

SAMUEL Travis

Silber Pro Cycling

15:13

53

PHINNEY Taylor

EF Education First-Drapac

15:22

54

SHELDEN Taylor

Jelly Belly

15:33

55

HUFFMAN Evan

Rally Cycling

15:41

56

HERNANDEZ Michael

Aevolo

15:59

57

NEWKIRK Isaiah

303 Project

16:27

58

NORRIS Lachlan

UnitedHealthcare

17:00

59

WINN Chris

303 Project

17:06

60

WILLIAMS Tyler

Israel Cycling Academy

17:18

61

KRASILNIKAU Andrei

Holowesko-Citadel

17:36

62

REVARD Thomas

Hagens Berman Axeon

17:57

63

DAVIS Cole

Hagens Berman Axeon

17:59

64

PATE Danny

Rally Cycling

18:08

65

GIRKINS Kevin

Elevate-KHS

18:54

66

CASTILLO Ulises

Jelly Belly

19:17

67

HAIDET Lance

Aevolo

19:37

68

DIDIER Laurent

Trek-Segafredo

20:34

69

DANIEL Gregory

Trek-Segafredo

21:37

70

STEPHENS Austin

303 Project

22:18

71

CHAVES Brayan

Mitchelton-Scott

23:37

72

CHEYNE Jordan

Elevate-KHS

23:46

73

BASSETTI Sam

Elevate-KHS

24:03

74

SAGIV Guy

Israel Cycling Academy

28:38

Friday, August 17: Stage 2, Vail 15.9 km timed hill climb

Gavin Mannion and Serghei Tvectov (pictured) put UnitedHealthcare in the driver's seat of the Colorado Classic.

Gavin Mannion and Serghei Tvectov start tomorrow’s stage 3 circuit race around Denver with 11 seconds separating the two teammates from first and second place overall. Hugh Carthy (EF Education First) sits 21 seconds back in third.

“Today was an awesome day,” Mannion said. “I felt great from the start and was happy to put together such a fast ride. This my biggest win to date and to have Serge come in second makes it that much better. The team has been amazing these past couple weeks so I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum going.”

Team Director Seba Alexandre said it feels good to see all the hard work his riders have done throughout the season. “It’s paying off race after race,” he said. “Last week and on day one with Travis McCabe taking the win. Today with Gavin and Serghei. It’s just awesome that the guys can go well now. It was our plan to be 100 percent for Utah and Colorado and everyone is riding super well.”

Tvetcov, who finished second overall last year at the Colorado Classic, didn’t disappoint and providing the icing on the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling cake finishing 11 seconds behind Mannion, making it a 1-2 punch for both the men’s and women’s team.

“It was a great day for UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling overall, we put ourselves in a great position for tomorrow, the queen stage.” Tvetcov said. “We have a lot of cards to play we have the strongest team and three guys in Top 10.”

The Parker, Colo., native and Junior National Time Trial/Criterium champion set the pace early, attacking on the first climb, moving out in front and charging through the entire 64.1-mile circuit course ahead of the pack. Hecht’s inspired performance earned him the blue Gates General Classification leader’s jersey, the Frontier Airlines Sprint jersey, the Colorado Tourism King of the Mountain jersey and the Ikon Pass Best Young Rider jersey.

“I didn’t really expect at all to be able to make that move,” Hecht said of the final push to the finish, when he entered the homestretch barriers, cast a final glance over his shoulder and found he was alone. “I thought I’d give it one final attack, get some last TV coverage, get my name out there, hang on as best I could. It’s really big to win a race this big in my home state. I don’t think it’s really hit me yet.”

The first stage was comprised of a circuit race that took riders on an 8.8-mile loop beginning and finishing in Vail Village. In total, the men rode 64.1 miles, including 4,390 feet of climbing.

From the start line, racers launched immediately up Mill Creek Rd. – a dirt road taking them up Vail Mountain on a grueling climb that determined the Colorado Tourism Office King of the Mountain classification, an effort Hecht commanded from the first lap of the race.

The peloton then zipped down residential streets in Vail Village and along the Frontage Road toward West Vail before looping back to Vail Village, toward East Vail and around the Vail Golf Course. Here, the field picked up to a sprint on Vail Valley Drive. Hecht dominated from the start, winning the race in a total time of 2 hours, 32 minutes, 56 seconds.

Part of the pack of four that broke off early with Hecht and maintained a significant gap on the peleton for the majority of the race, Niklas EG (Trek-Segafredo) earned the First Bank Most Aggressive Rider jersey.

Coming into the Colorado Classic after another sizzling performance at the Tour of Utah, Travis McCabe (United Healthcare) was the second rider to cross the finish line Thursday, 6 seconds behind Hecht with Joe Lewis (Holowesko/Citadel presented by Arapahoe Resources) on his wheel in third.

“The last two laps started to get hectic,” McCabe said. “Guys were attacking on the hill; that forced breaks and a lot of disorganization. Once everyone got back together they were pretty much on the limit with the altitude and the climb. You didn’t have many cards to play with. Gage was incredibly strong today. He rode a beautiful race.”